7Life Cycle of Butterfly Unit

Kate Cervone

Rachele Campisi

Kricel Francis

EDU 537

Dr. Mason

Rationale The purpose of our unit plan is to educate students in second grade about

the life cycle of a butterfl y. Our goal is to have the students gain the understanding of the life cycle process. Each lesson is designed to address the required New York State Learning Standards while utilizing creativity to enhance the concepts.

Our unit will span over a two week period, chronologically explaining each phase of metamorphosis. Each lesson is structured and creatively designed to enhance the learning process for each learning style. For our students with special needs, there are specifi c strategies to help them succeed and reach their full potential.

Our unit plan begins with introducing Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar and discussing the role of a caterpillar in the life cycle. Once the students have made sense of the caterpillar’s role, we discuss the process of metamorphosis with a scientifi c analysis of each stage. After discussing metamorphosis, the students will discover mathematics in nature by constructing symmetrical wings on a butterfl y.

To end the unit, the students will test their knowledge of butterfl ies by going on a fi eld trip to the Museum of Natural History’s Butterfl y Conservatory. In the conservatory, the students will participate in a scavenger hunt where they must correctly identify butterfl ies and their origin. We feel that this is an engaging and kinesthetic way to bring the unit to life for our class.

In conclusion, by the end of unit, the students will completely understand the life cycle process. The students will enjoy this unit and be eager to apply their new found knowledge to their everyday life. The students will be able to take the information they learned and apply it to countless subject areas.

Essential Question

How Does a Caterpillar become a Butterfly?

Graphic Organizer

Calendar

Lesson Plans ELA

After reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle, the students will create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the insects correctly identifying at least three characteristics of each.

Science

Following a class discussion about metamorphosis, the students will be able to fi rst identify how much do they know about metamorphosis, then the students will create the life cycle of the butterfl y by indentifying the four stages of a butterfl y. This will be done with at least 80 percent accuracy.

Math

Following the students sciences lesson butterfl ies, they will then learn about symmetry in nature by painting a design on one side of a teacher-provided handout of a butterfl y. They will then fold the paper in half so that when they open it, they will have the same pattern on both sides.

Social Studies – Field Trip

As a way to tie together the life cycle of a butterfl y unit, the class will go on a fi eld trip to the Museum of Natural History in New York City. There is currently an exhibit on display called The Butterfl y Conservatory that will give students the opportunity to interact with butterfl ies. The students will be given a scavenger hunt sheet to identify the diff erent kinds of butterfl ies on display in the exhibit. Once they have identifi ed them, they must fi gure out where they are geographically located, based on information provided in the exhibit.

Unit Assessment Checklist

Skit #1: Egg ______________

The children should be able to convey the characteristics of the first life cycle stage, such as a mother butterfly laying eggs on a leaf. 

Skit #2: Larva ______________

The children should be able to convey the characteristics of a larva/caterpillar, such as: hatching from an egg, eating leaves, growing quickly in size, and growing out of its skin.

Skit #3: Pupa ______________

The children should be able to convey the characteristics of the transformation stage when the caterpillar tissues are broken down inside the cocoon, forming the adult’s new structures.

Skit #4: Adult ______________

After two weeks within the chrysalis, the students should be able to portray how the butterfly emerges from the pupa and learns how to fly. After this, the cycle begins all over again.

High Incidence Disability

Instructing Students With High Incidence Disabilities in the General Education Classroom

http://www.ascd.org/publications/curriculum_handbook/413/chapters/Instructing_Students_With_High-Incidence_Disabilities_in_the_General_Education_Classroom.aspx 

Assistive Technology to meet K-12 Students Needs http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te7assist.

htm 

High Incidence Disabilities http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_specialed_cluster_2/28/7202/1843735

.cw/index.html Beginning teacher support

http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/case_studies/ICS-008.pdf Intellectual, academic, and behavioral functioning of students with

high-incidence disabilities: a cross-categorical meta-analysis http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3130/is_1_72/ai_n29240819

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Issue: High Incidence Disabilities.(n.d.). Idea Partnership. Retrieved from http://ideapartnership.org/index.php?option=comcontent&view=article&id=1377:issue-high-incidence-disabilities&catid=269:sub-topic-disability-issue&itemid=78

High Incidence Learning Disabilities and Accommodations 97. (n.d.). Upload & share PowerPoint presentation and documents. Retrieve from http://www.slideshare.net/teechkidz.net/high-incidence-learning-disabilities-and-accomodations-97

American Speech-Language Hearing Association. Retrieved from http://www.asha.org

LD information and Links. Retrieved from http://www.ldonline.com

Council for Children with Behavior Disorder s. Retrieved from http://www.ccbd.net

Teaching Students with Higher Incidence Disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.sonoma.edu/users/p/phelan/433/chap3.htm

Mental Retardation. Retrieved from http://www.napcse.org/exceptionalchildren/mentalretardation.php

Low Incidence Disability

1. Low Incidence Disabilities Seigle Diagnostic Center(Main Office)2625 E. St. Louis Ave.Las Vegas, NV 89104(702) 799-7433Fax (702) 799-7454

2. Region 17 Education Service Center

1111 West Loop 289 • Lubbock, Texas 79416 VOICE 806-792-4000 • FAX 806-792-1523

3. New York City SETRC Central Office52Chambers Street, Room 2-08New York, NY 10007Phone:(212) 374-0339Fax: (212) 374-5901

4. Resources at AHA, NYS and US Government ContactsAHA Offices: 330 Broadway, Amitville, NY 11701                              Mailing Address: AHA Association, PO Box 916, Bethpage, NY 11714   Phone/Fax number: 888-918-9198 5. Advanced Psychological

Assessment, P.C. Shahal Rozenblatt, Ph.D.50 Karl Avenue, Suite 104Smithtown, NY 11787or137 East 36th Street, Suite 4New York, NY 10016(866) 840-9790

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